Ingram's May 2023

BETWEEN THE LINES

the city pulls from the park board allotments to keep the general fund afloat and Penn Valley Park awash in world-class debris. The park attracts

difficult that young urbanites have switched to scooters, usually powered by lithium-ion batteries. Happily for the skinny-jean crowd, people their age, even much younger, are pleased to work the mines in places like inner Mongolia and the Congo to keep Kansas City sustainable. If “sustainable” means financially sustainable, planners need only look to Kansas City’s earlier experiences with cookie-cutter urbanization. Not too long ago, civic boosters sold the Power & Light District to the public on the premise—pause here for laughter—that it would generate enough tax revenue to pay for the bonds issued to finance it. That never happened. From Day One, even the true believers knew they had been suckered. Since it opened in 2007, the district has forever had to rely on refinancing and its general fund to make debt payments that total more than $10 million a year. Meanwhile,

If great success means sustainability, light rail is a bust. It generates nothing. The fact that skinny-jeaners could ride for free embarrassed the KCATA into making all bus service free. This model would not even strike Karl Marx as “sustainable.” The South Loopers, of course, are also keen on making their park “equitable.” If serious, they could find no better model than Penn Valley Park. The park attracts illegal immigrants from many nations, the homeless of all races, and sex hustlers of all genders. This helps explain why I have never seen a skinny-jeaned person anywhere near Penn Valley and why Elliott — surprise, surprise—failed to mention these potential park-killers even once in his presentation.

Penn Valley Park attracts illegal immigrants from many nations, homeless of all races, and sex hustlers of all genders.

illegal immigrants from many nations, the homeless of all races, and sex hustlers of all genders. bris. As much as I appreciate their optimism, Elliot and his fellow boosters see the downside of nothing. He casually referred, for instance, to the city’s “great success with the light rail.”

The views expressed in this column, which is also published online in the Heartlander, are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ingram’s Magazine. Jack Cashill , Senior Editor, Editorial @ Ingrams.com

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May 2023

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